


Katie's Almost Totally Made-Up Tevene Dictionary/Reference

by katiebour



Category: Dragon Age
Genre: Languages and Linguistics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-24
Updated: 2011-07-25
Packaged: 2017-10-21 17:24:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/227715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katiebour/pseuds/katiebour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since several people have indicated curiosity about my Tevene <strike>Arcanum</strike> reference, I present it here. It may change as I continue to explore the language, but for now, enjoy!  I apologize for the formatting- AO3 eats my word documents every time, even when I use the Word doc posting tool.  Apparently it <i>really</i> doesn't like tables.  I've simply gone to a .txt format and added html tags.  I've split it up into five chapters for ease of viewing and overhauled every single section.  Includes my updated translation of Mage's Pride as the sixth chapter.  Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reference overview and phrase breakdowns

**Katie’s Almost Totally Made-Up ~~Arcanum~~ Tevene Dictonary:**

 *****Major Edit- I've seperated nouns, verbs, adjectives/adverbs/conjunctions/prepositions and pronouns into their own chapters. It's easier to find a section this way, and you can open up several windows for your dialogue crafting.*****

I’ve tossed out the “mordoi deid” and “degit” sentences from the Dragon Age Wiki because they don’t sound right. Languages follow patterns, and after picking apart those sentences along with Fenris’ utterances, etc, they just don’t fit. And since I’ve been unable to find any mention of the entry elsewhere that would indicate a canon/Bioware origin, I’ve chosen to throw out the bad and make my own stuff. :D ~~I’m still debating whether or not to throw out the –ud/-d endings etc.... but I like the feel of them- they give the language a distinct character, so for now they stay.~~ I've thrown them out and made the language fit within a more Latin-esque mode by retooling the pronouns, following the patterns set in Mage's Pride. The only thing I’m keeping is the imperative –ev structure, which actually seems to fit with what Fenris says.

The language has a fairly flexible word order, usually Subject-Verb-Object as in Fenris’ “Na via lerno victoria” but also Object-Subject-Verb in “Festis bei umo cana varum.” Like English, there are simply many ways to state the same thing depending on how artfully you wish to phrase your words, such as:

Maker, grant your protection unto me.  
Maker, grant me your protection.  
Grant me your protection, Maker.  
Grant unto me, Maker, your protection.

And so on....

Most of the verb stems I’ve pulled from Latin (choice #1), Italian/Spanish (choice #2), German (choice #3) or Greek (choice #4.) Being that Tevinter is next-door to the Anderfels, Antiva, Nevarra, and the heavily contested area between them and the Qunari/Par Vollen, I can easily believe that some words and structure bleed over. In translating the calendar names it is clear that the base language for Tevene is indeed Latin. There's also some Greek in canon- Archon is of Greek origin, as is Magus. Of course, some stuff I’ve simply altered or made up to suit (femundis and venhedis being examples of stuff I simply chose an appropriate meaning for, in context.) It goes without saying that none of this is a “canon” translation.

I’ve found no source for why the language would be called Arcanum, and have never heard any reference to it in-game. Since the Dragon Age Tabletop RPG Guide (pen and paper guide released by Bioware, and thus, canon) says that mages from the Circle Tower may be able to read “Ancient Tevene,” I’m assuming that the current language is simply “Tevene.” Therefore I’m tossing out the whole “Arcanum” name which I suspect was simply the Dragon Age Wiki Troll’s invention as well. Henceforth I shall refer to the language as “Tevene.”

Anyway, putting this together has been a lot of fun- and getting it ready to show all of you guys has made me fix some errors in consistency (thus invalidating Tevene that I’ve already put in my existing fics! Argh!) If you have suggestions/additions feel free to drop me a line- maybe we should make a page somewhere for everyone to look at/reference/modify?

 ~~Now that I’ve made this presentable to the public, I will probably be revisiting my Mage’s Pride translation to bring it (along with this document) into line.~~ I have updated Mage's Pride to a complete word-for-word translation, and will post the update momentarily. Both of these documents will probably continue to change as I keep working on this (yes, this is what I do for fun, hehe.) In the meantime, enjoy, and if you use this and/or post it somewhere, please give me credit, yeah? :D

Much credit goes to the fantastic resource, William Whitaker’s Words as found here:  
http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordes.exe

And the ubiquitous Google Translate. I wouldn’t rely on it alone, but sometimes it helps to chase down different verb options or possible meanings that can be explored in-depth using Words.

***************************************************************************************

 **Canon phrase breakdowns:**

 **Aqua magus:**  
Magical water.

 **A vana:**  
lit. To before.  
We meet again.

 **Festis bei umo cana varum:**  
lit. Feast I am for a female dog, truly.  
I’m dogmeat/I’m fucked.

 **Na via lerno victoria:**  
Only one lives to know victory.

 **Vishanti caevas:**  
The Three Demons take you!

 **(Vadeve) Venhedis:**  
lit. (Go to) the Void  
To the Void with you!

 **Fastevas:**  
lit. May they all screw.  
Screw/Fuck them all.

 **Asti a vala femundis:**  
To the stars through difficulty.  
(Analogous to ad astra per aspera)

 **My created (or borrowed from Latin) phrases:**  
Malum!- Fuck! (from Latin)  
Minus malum- lit. “less evil”: equivalent to “thank goodness” (from Latin)  
Creator, concedoeve ti praesidis mi. Maker, grant your protection unto me.  
venieve meacum, ma damma: Come with me, my gazelle  
Nos possesi concito- we can rush/no need to wait  
bese formosus- you are handsome  
bese formosa– you are beautiful  
ma aureum- my golden one  
Valea- Be strong (goodbye)  
Bese ma mortis- You are the death of me.  
potieve dore na-Have no shame.  
beseve na dorus-Be proud.  
beseve dorus-You should be ashamed.  
Anima magus- Mage's pride/heart/soul/intellect/spirit.  


Famis via vulpis alta en vinea,  
uvi umo petabat superior adsilians fortum.  
Ea na possa peto, sic loquabat,  
“Bese na adhoc matura; na voli acerba cao.”  
Quaeore detractas illum na acquiras  
Hic fabula aptevas a ipsas.

Hunger drove fox deep in vineyard,  
Reached for the grapes, highest leaping strongly.  
He not could to reach, thus he said,  
“You are not yet ripe; I do not want the bitter to take.”  
Whoever disparages that which they can not acquire,  
This fable must apply to themselves.


	2. Tevene Pronouns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This includes my retooled pronouns. I threw out the Dragon Age Wiki Troll's construction and went with something that was in-line with Mage's Pride and a Latin-esque origin. I'm very pleased with the result.

**Nominative pronouns:**  
I- mea  
you- tua  
he/she/it/one- ea  
we- nos  
ye (you all)-vos  
they- eore  
Whoever/a person- qua(sing)  
Whoever/people- quaeore(pl)

 **Possessive pronouns:**  
my- ma  
your- ti (masc)/tu (fem) (irregular)  
his/hers/its- easa  
our- nostra  
ye (your all)- vestra  
their- eora

 **Reflexive pronouns:**  
myself- ipsi  
yourself- ipse  
himself/herself/itself- ipsa  
ourselves- ipseis  
yeselves- ipses  
themselves- ipsas

 **Dative pronouns:**  
to me - mi  
to you -tui  
to he/she/it - ei  
to us nostri  
to ye- vestri  
to them- eori

Note:  Irregular construction of the second person possessive pronoun is based on the following from Mage's Pride:

tu rei na  it's not your(fem) fault.

versus my translation here:

F!Hawke:   omne a rei vera ti reina.  in all, to king true your(masc) queen/in all, to your king I your true queen.  
Alternate:  omne a rei via ti rei na- in all, guilt forces your(masc) pride

I had to try and figure out why I would have two words for "your", and since I've established gender-based endings on other things, I figured that having a gender-specific pronoun made sense.  Also, it turned my interpretation of Mage's Pride into a duet!

 **Demonstratives:**  
that (masc)- ille  
that (fem)- illa  
that (neutral)- illum

this- hic  



	3. Tevene Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions, and Prepositions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This section includes a miscellany of adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions.

**Adjective endings- Adjectives can be adjusted to match gender via the endings:**  
-ius/-us (male)  
-i/-a (female)  
-ior (more)  
-um (neutral)

 **Adjectives(neutral):**  
serum- late  
formosum- beautiful  
malum- bad (Also Latin for "Fuck!" which I've chosen to keep in Tevene)  


 **Adjectives(masc):**  
minus- lesser  
primus- first  
ultimus-last  
cassus- empty, barren, fruitless  
dorus- ashamed  
na dorus- proud  
malus- bad  
bonus- good  
aureus- golden (masc)  
magus -magical, of or belonging to mages  
superus –high/tall

 **Adjectives(fem):**  
miri- beautiful  
aurea- golden (fem)  
solia- shining/of the sun  
vera- true  
alta- high  
forta- strong  
matura- ripe  
acerba- bitter

 **Adverbs:**  
varum- truly  
sic- thus  
adhoc- yet

 **Prepositions:**  
cum- with  
a- to, by  
vala- through  
vana- before  
si- if/should  
en- in

 **Conjunctions:**  
e- and  
umo- for  
na - no, except, only


	4. Tevene Verbs and Declensions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This section includes all known/created Tevene verbs, along with several declensions.
> 
> I've created the infinitive, present tense, past tense, present progressive tense, and imperative forms.
> 
> I'm keeping the imperative -ev structure from the Dragon Age Wiki Troll because it actually seems to work with Fenris' canon speech, ie. "Fastevas" or "Vishanti caevas!"

**Verbs (Infinitives all end in o):**  
vento- to want  
lerno-  to learn  
tiro- to pull  
concedo- to grant  
beo- to be  
veno- to come  
valeo- to be strong/healthy  
concito- to rush/arouse  
posso- to be able  
faro- to do  
cao- to take  
fasto- to turn/screw  
vado- to go  
vio- to live/to force (cognate)  
nubero- to marry  
obsecro- to beseech/beg  
rogo- to ask  
oro- to beg/pray  
adoro- to honor/adore/worship/beg/love  
quaeso- to seek/ask/beg  
molio- to toil/struggle  
fervento- to boil  
so- to know  
remo- to return  
potio- to possess/have  
peto- to reach for  
adsilio – to jump, leap  
loquo- to speak  
volo- to want  
detracto- disparage  
acquiro- to get  
apto- to adapt, to fit, to apply

 **Verb declensions:**  
negate with 'na' to indicate opposite- adoro- love/na adoro- hate

 **Imperative declension of faro- "to do"**  
(dashes are simply to illustrate structure and may be omitted)  
I must do it!- Far-ev-i  
you must do it!- Far-ev-e  
he/she/one must do it!- Far-ev-a  
we must do it!- Far-ev-eis  
ye (you all) must do it!- Far-ev-es  
they must do it!- Far-ev-as

 **Present tense declension of faro- "to do"**  
I do- fari  
you do- fare  
he/she/one does- fara  
we do- fareis  
ye (you all) do- fares  
they do- faras

 **Present tense declension of vio- "to live" or "to force" (irregular)**  
I live/force- visi  
you live/force- vie  
he/she/it lives/forces- via  
we live/force- vieis  
you all live/force- vies  
they live/force- vias

 **Present tense declension of beo- "to be" (irregular)**  
I am- bei  
you are- bese  
he/she/one is- bea  
we are- beis  
ye (you all) are- beses  
they are- beas

 **Present tense declension of do- "to give"**  
I give - di  
you give- de  
he/she/it gives  da  
we give- deis  
ye give- des  
they give- das

 **Present tense declension of so- "to know"**  
I know- si  
you know- se  
he/she/it knows- sa  
we know- seis  
you all know- sas  
they know- ses

 **Present tense declension of remo- "to return"**  
I return - remi  
you return - reme  
he/she/it returns - rema  
we return- remeis  
you all return- remas  
they return- remes

 **Present tense declension of na adoro- "to not love, to hate"**  
I hate  na adori  
you hate  na adore  
he/she/it hates  na adora  
we hate-na adoreis  
you all hate-na adores  
they hate-na adoras

 **Present tense declension of adoro- "to love/worship/adore"**  
I love - adori  
you love - adore  
he/she/it loves - adora  
we love- adoreis  
you all love- adores  
they love- adoras

 **Past tense declension of acquiro- "to acquire/get"**  
I acquired- acquiribat  
you acquired - acquirebat  
he/she/it acquired - acquirabat  
we acquired- acquireisbat  
you all acquired- acquiresbat  
they acquired- acquirasbat

Past tense you/you all are the same- they can be differentiated by a preceding pronoun.

 **Present progressive tense declension of apto- "to adapt/fit/apply"**  
I am adapting - aptins  
you are adapting - aptens  
he/she/it is adapting - aptans  
we are adapting- apteisans  
you all are adapting- aptesans  
they are adapting- aptasans

In verbs where the declension would lead to a repetition of syllables, an s is inserted (i.e. bese instead of be'e for "you do") and the verb is marked as irregular.


	5. Tevene Nouns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This section includes all known/created nouns, classified by gender/plurality.

**Nouns (fem):**  
(Some nouns are masculine, some feminine, some can be either i.e. dog vs. bitch)  
victoria- victory  
damma- gazelle  
pluia- rain  
nubia- marriage  
eluvia- flood  
matria- mother  
matricula- mother, affectionately.  
sorora- sister  
parvula- little one, child (fem)  
dia- day  
umbra- shadow/silence/dark  
tora- door/gateway/goal  
alla- other girl/woman  
adora- my love (fem)  
reina- queen  
aqua- water  
anima- life, soul, intellect, feelings, heart, courage, character, pride  
maga- mage(fem.)  
fabula- story, fable  
vinea- vineyard

 **Nouns(masc):**  
re- thing, it  
re na- nothing  
dore  shame  
dore na  no shame/pride  
alle- other boy/man  
adore- my love (masc)  
omne- everything, all, every, in the end  
ore- mouth

mortis- death  
praesidis- protection  
canis  dog  
valis  strength  
astis-star  
femundis-difficulty  
festis-feast  
mensis- month  
veris- truth  
molis-struggle/burden  
fervis- fervor/heat  
parvulis- little one, child (masc)  
finis- end  
patris- father  
fratris- brother  
dis- god  
tis- fear  
magis- mage(masc.)  
famis- hunger  
vulpis- fox  
facundis- eloquence  
filis- son  


 **Nouns(pl):**  
di- gods  
alli- others  
ti- fears  
uvi- grapes

 **Nouns(neutral):**  
annum- holiday (from Thedan Calendar codex- Latin for "year")  
frumentum- grain  
uvum- grape

 **Nouns(irregular):**  
rei- king  
rei- fault, guilt

 **Noun Endings:**  
-e/-is/-tor/-ter (masculine singular)  
-a/-tra/-trix (feminine singular)  
-um (neutral singular)  
-i (plural)

 **Proper Nouns:**  
Creator- Maker  
Domne- my Lord  
Domna- my Lady  
Magister- Lord Mage  
Magistra- Lady Mage  
Matria- Mother  
Patris- Father  
Sorora- Sister  
Fratris- Brother  
Rei- King  
Reina- Queen  
Archon- Ruler/Authority(originally from Greek Άρχειν- to rule)

Vera- Spring  
Aesta- Summer  
Autumnis- Fall/Autumn  
Hiemis- Winter  
Vishanti- The Three Demons (analog to Marvel comic's Vishanti, probably a Tevinter legend)  
Venhedis- the Void  
Solis- the sun

Dia Primus- the Festival of the First Day  
Hiemali Finis- the Festival of Winter's End  
Funalis- the Festival of Torches  
Satinalia- the Festival of Surfeit

Verimensis- the Month of Truths, Wintermarch  
Pluitanis- the Month of Rains, Guardian  
Nubulis- the Month of Marriage, Drakonis  
Eluviesta- the Month of Summer Floods, Cloudreach  
Molioris- the Month of Toil, Bloomingtide  
Ferventis- the Month of Heat, Justinian  
Solis- the Month of the Sun, Solace  
Matrinalis- the Month of the Mother, August  
Parvulis- the Month of the Children, Kingsway  
Frumentum- the Month of Grain, Harvestmere  
Umbralis- the Month of Shadow, Firstfall  
Cassus- the Month of Emptiness, Haring


	6. Mage Pride (Anima Magus), Tevene Translation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's Mage's Pride, redone to be completely in line with the reference. Also, the song enabled me to fix the references' pronouns- they go together like cookies and milk! :D I didn't realize when I set up 'na' to negate or force the opposite of a noun or a verb that it would work out so perfectly- with the end of the song being 'dore na' = 'shame not' = the opposite of shame which is PRIDE! I squee'd so hard when I realized that it actually made PERFECT FLIPPING SENSE!
> 
> Yeah, I'm easily pleased :D

Anders:                   **tui e mea-**  
                             unto you and I  
F!Hawke:                 **e tua, ma adore.**  
                             and you, my love(masc).  
F!Hawke:                 **omne a rei vera ti reina.**  
                             in everything, to king true your(masc) queen/in all, to your king I your true queen.  
(alternatively-           **omne a rei via ti rei na** -  
                             in everything, guilt forces your(masc) pride.)  
Anders:                   **tu rei na-**  
                             it's not your(fem) fault  
F!Hawke:                 **dore na.**  
                             no shame.

Anders:                   **tui e mea-**  
                             unto you and I  
F!Hawke:                 **e tua, ma adore.**  
                             and you, my love(masc).  
F!Hawke:                 **omne ore via ti na adore**.  
                             every mouth that forces fears, you hate.    
Anders:                   **tu rei na-**  
                             it's not your fault  
F!Hawke:                 **dore na**.  
                             no shame.

 **domna miri solia,**  
Lady, beautiful, of the sun  
 **si da alli-**  
if you give to others  
 **domna miri solia,**  
Lady, beautiful, of the sun  
 **si re da mi?**  
should it not also be given to me?

 **domna miri solia,**  
Lady, beautiful, of the sun  
 **si da alli-**  
if you give to others  
 **tu rei na-**  
it's not your fault  
 **dore na.**  
no shame.

 **tui e mea-**  
unto you and I  
 **e tora na adoro-**  
and a gateway to hate  
 **omne reme a di re na.**  
In the end, you return to the gods as nothing.  
 **dore na...**  
no shame...  
 **dore na.**  
no shame.

 **tui e mea-**  
unto you and I  
 **e tora na adore-**  
and a goal you hate  
 **omne reme a di re na.**  
In the end, you return to the gods as nothing.  
 **dore na...**  
no shame...  
 **dore na.**  
no shame.

 **domna miri solia,**  
Lady, beautiful, of the sun  
 **si da alli-**  
if you give to others  
 **domna miri solia,**    
Lady, beautiful, of the sun  
 **si re da mi?**  
should it not also be given to me?  
 **(so rei na, dore na)**  
To know no king, no shame

 **domna miri solia,**  
Lady, beautiful, of the sun  
 **si da alli-**  
if you give to others  
 **domna miri solia,**  
Lady, beautiful, of the sun  
 **si re da mi?**  
should it not also be given to me?  
 **(so rei na, dore na)**  
To know no king, no shame

 **domna miri solia,**  
Lady, beautiful, of the sun  
 **si da alli-**  
if you give to others  
 **tui e ma,**  
you and my-  
 **dore na.**  
my pride.


End file.
